StatWeek

HeatMap Tues 21 Feb 2023 - full market down  Check out today’s heat map: Every sector closed red. Consumer staples (-0.38%) led & consumer discretionary (-3.34%) lagged. 🔻 In economic news, existing home sales fell for the twelfth straight month to their lowest level since 2010. After seven months of decline, U.S. business activity showed signs of improvement as the S&P composite flash PMI rose to 50.2 from 47.5 (readings over 50 indicate expansion). 🏭 Canada’s annual inflation rate cooled to +5.9% in January, but the price of groceries and interest rates on mortgages continue to pressure consumers. Meanwhile, overseas, Japan saw its factory activity shrink at the quickest pace in about 2.5 years. Weak global demand caused export orders to fall the most since July 2020, while service-sector activity grew for a sixth straight month. 📉

 

 

  "What things from other cultures would you embrace?" ​ There were some...odd questions. And odd results too. (30% of Americans would prefer a gap in their bathroom stalls? Why??) and some I could not believe were so low (just 34% are in favor of more roundabouts?

  The United States remains a flawed democracy. - The Economist Intelligence Unit’s  Democracy Index 2022

 Government pump and dump It's crucial to remember the government's actions and central banks' influence on the market, especially in the current environment. You may have missed it, but the Bank of Japan, Bank of China, and the European Central Bank have been pumping a staggering $1 trillion in liquidity into their systems. This is pushing risk assets, such as stocks and Bitcoin, higher and is overall improving financial conditions for markets. But here's the thing:  At some point, investors will start taking profits, which will send this thing down fast and hard. So be careful because somebody's going to get stuck holding the bag. Make sure it's not you.  Look out for more information!

We are in for a bumper year if stats are consistent In years when the red-hot January performance followed a bad prior year performance – as is the case in 2023 – average returns that year were almost 26%.  Sure, you can argue that inflation is making a comeback, the Fed will keep hiking rates aggressively, or the economy will plunge into a recession. You can argue that this rebound is just another bear market rally.